Responsibility
by XxXAura-AshleyXxX
Summary: Reno, the naturally idiotic Turk, never wanted kids. But, for reasons unknown to him, he has taken it upon himself to take care of a girl he orphaned during the Sector 7 plate drop. Something about this girl, however, will make him question everything. A collection of short stories alternating between Reno's and OC's POV. Rating may change if the need requires it. R/R please :)
1. Costa Del Sol

A/N: lets see what do say about my newest story…Right it's going to be multiple chapters and revolve around the life of an OC named Aeria and her life within the seven universe. Well hope you enjoy it.

 _Picking up the tape recorder, I pressed record. "I have a story to tell. It's something stupid, especially seeing as it's coming from me. There was this girl, this girl i loved very much. She meant so much to me. I took from her everything she owned, and everything she ever knew. Sector seven was something I never thought i'd regret until I went back to scene and saw this child. She was a small thing; couldn't be taller then at least five foot and couldn't weigh more then a hundred pounds. Small little thing I swear. Hair brown, eyes blue. She was super pretty. But, sadly, there was something about her though that none of us would find out until much later. But, uhm, i'll get to that later I swear! Well lets just get this started. I don't know how long the battery on this thing will last and Tseng said to record everything that occured. Ok Reno, lets begin..."_

We both sat, hand in hand, watching as the sun set over the clear waters of Costa del Sol. Aeria, shy as always, just sat and stared, not a single word nor sounds escaping her lips. I, on the other hand, really could not stop talking. It was just an amazing feeling that I didn't want to end. Yes we were just friends, and yes I had some sort of feelings for her beyond that, but it was my job to protect her; keep her safe for she had no one else to do it; which was my fault (I did drop the plate that her and her family lived under ultimately killing her family). I felt responsible and I swore to myself I'd do whatever it took to keep her safe for she had no one else to do it.

She withdrew her hand from mine and rested both her lap. What was she thinking? What was I thinking getting upset by this simple action? She sighed and looked at me, her soft blue eyes meeting mine. "You know," she began, her tone soft and innocent as always. She stood and walked to the shore line, putting one shoed foot in the water, winced then took it out. "I often wonder about myself when I hang out with you, you know?" she turned to look at me, the faintest of smiles crossing her lips. "And what I wonder is how crazy am I to be hanging out with a man twice my age who, mind you, is a known killer." She giggled. Her statement wasn't far off though. I have killed many innocent people, as well as( unbeknownst to her) the death of thousands from the plate drop of sector seven. Sometimes I wondered the same thing as well.

She approached me and knelt before me, putting her hands on my knees. She always loved touching me, not that I mind of course. "I guess I'm just crazy eh Reno?" she laughed and rolled onto her back, resting her head on my legs. I ran my hand through her mid length brown hair. She smiled and closed her eyes.

"Yup very crazy indeed." I responded lovingly. I didn't want this moment to end. I wanted to sit here with her on this beach forever; to never let her go, to be here with her until the end of time. But I knew that just couldn't be; that my ideal life with her would never happen; I was twenty-eight and her fourteen. Not only that, she saw me more as an older brother then anything else. I sighed, as this thought ruined my happy mood; knowing that I would never be anything but a friend to the person I truly did love. She must have picked up on my mood and asked 'what's wrong?' I shook my head, simply responding 'nothing.'

A/N: I'm going to attempt to update this story every day or other day. Hopefully at least.


	2. Chocobo

"I still can't believe you've never seen a chocobo." Obviously she was lying, she had to be. Who in their right mind has never seen a chocobo before? I mean their everywhere and it's like you can't escape them no matter how hard you try; yet she had, yet perfect Aeria had. She only laughed that cute laugh and continued walking down the path to the Chocobo Farm.

"No silly I never have." she turned around rather quickly; a look of eagerness was written all over her face. She had been telling me on a constant basis how she wanted to see the chocobos, and every time I swore to her I'd take her to see them; even if I had to beg and plead with Tseng for some time off to do it (which he finally agreed to).

Now her reaction to seeing a chocobo was weirder then her not seeing one at all. When we arrived at the farm, she was almost frightened of the giant yellow birds; quickly stepping back and almost hiding behind me, clinging to my waist as if it meant life or death. I shook my head; just like a kid. I pushed her off. "It's a bird it's not going to hurt you."

"But it's so big!" She remarked, trying her best to get back to that comfort spot on my waist. Though don't get me wrong, I would have loved her to just cling to me and not let go. But she needed to know that these big, yellow abominations were of no harm to her. I took a few steps away, and watched as the fear in her eyes intensified. I shook my head. Damn girl.

"Dammit girly it's not gonna hurt you, I swear. And if it does," I quickly took out my mag rod, "I'll kick it's ass I promise. Now go look at the damn thing you dragged me out here for." Had to be serious with her, had the put my foot down; I felt bad though. She must have seen how serious I was trying to be, as she did as I said and approached the bird, holding a shaking hand out to it. The bird just watched her for a moment, maybe considering what it wanted to do. Figuring she was of no harm to it, it then placed its head against her hand and any fear in her eyes drained away as she gently stroked its face.

A smile crossed my face as I watched the scene before me. I walked up to her, and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Look Reno it's so soft and nice!" the amazement in her voice was unmistakable. She looked at me, and gave that same innocent smile I knew her for. She mouthed the word 'thanks' and returned her attention to the giant yellow bird before us.

She was happy. That's all that mattered; my lack of such happiness did not. Today would be another day in which I suppressed what I truly thought of her.


	3. Rejection

I had work today. Not like I wanted to go though; I hadn't slept well that night. I don't know what stopped me from calling in today, but whatever. I looked around for the keys to my car and I noticed her, just staring. I didn't understand why. Sometimes she does shit that I truly don't comprehend. So I stared back at her, guessing maybe it might reveal what she wanted. She only yawned and rubbed her eyes. This intense staring contest lasted at least a good five minutes before the silence was broken, by me of course. "You okay?" I asked sort of concerned.

"Yeah I'm just," she walked up to me, and out of no where, gave me a hug. Oh it surprised me, it surprised me completely but all I did was hug back. I mean this isn't the first time she's ever hugged me, it just seemed like something was off about it. Was she worried I wouldn't come back? I mean I'd be worried too, my job is dangerous after all. So I leaned down to whispered " I promise I'll be back. Sephiroth himself couldn't kill me" to soothe her nerves. I mean part of that statement was true. I'm just that great. Now I don't know what led me to do this, or whatever, but I leaned down and kiss the top of her head. I figured maybe it was something kind I could do to help her feel better; not like she would mind right? Plus any opportunity to exert any sort of love on her was something I'd gladly take. But it didn't go as planned however, as he stepped back from me and shook her head.

"Don't do that." She stated matter-of-factly. "Just come back okay?" her tone had some sort of warning to it.

I looked away, hiding the frown that was inevitably forming on my face. "Yeah I promise." And I left, left her to spend the whole day alone and worried. Man if only she knew this simple rejection had effected me, how I felt some kind of sadness in the pit of my stomach; like my heart had just been smashed into itsy bitsy little piece that no matter how long you tied to reassemble it, it wouldn't be fixed.


	4. Storms

You see, I live on the top plate of Sector 5 in a not to nice(yet not so slummy) apartment building downtown. Something small, just enough for me, and in my low price range (I'm paid surprisingly low for risking my life everyday.) Seeing as I live on the top plate, we experience the different weather patterns that the people below the plate are fortunate not to get. The rain is my favorite. It helps me relax. Aeria likes the rain too; she tells me it gives her a feeling of calm and relaxation. But storms were a different matter mind you. She hated those, even though she'd deny it until the day she died.

Tonight would deliver the worst storm Midgar had seen in ages; rains, winds, thunder, lightning and the possibility for tornados. This didn't bother me, I mean its just a storm nothing to be afraid of. But that didn't mean she wasn't, even though she was hiding it quite well. She was playing on my laptop when the power went out; kicking her off the net of course and earning a few yells of frustration seeing as she was playing some MMO. Last I checked, it was eleven and I did have work in the morning so I decided I'd go to bed; better then sitting in the dark after all. She would be okay and the power would come back soon enough, so I didn't really need to worry. Getting up, though, earned me some sort of annoyed sigh.

"Are you serious? It's dark." she whined, trying to hide the obvious fear that littered her sweet voice. She's so cute when she's afraid and if call her on it she'll call me crazy.

"I thought you weren't afraid of storms." I stopped, holding the door knob leading to my room. All I could hear from here was some sort of sound that was something of annoyance. I mean she couldn't hide shit very well and this was proof of it.

"I'm not, okay?" She sat back on the couch, trying desperately to find some sort of net on that laptop to reconnect to her game. I just laughed softly, whispered 'Okay', and went into my room. Sleep would take me soon enough and, as every other time there was a storm at night, the same events would transpire. Just give it time.

It must have been at least three in the morning when I felt something clung to me. I rolled over, and would you know it, there she was, like every other stormy night, arms wrapped tightly around me, shaking slightly. And like every other time this happened, I rolled over, wrapped my arm tightly around her, and whispered to her in the sweetest voice I could ever muster that everything would be okay. Too bad you're asleep; too bad you don't know how much it kills me that this would never happen if you were awake. But I'll take what I can get. What is it Rude would tell me…? Oh right! Better then nothing.


	5. Hate

She wanted a cat and she's been pestering me for one ever since we saw this Persian cat in a pet store window. I mean I would gladly get it for her, but the building doesn't allow pets and I refuse to get thrown out over some insignificant animal (I'm also not a cat person). Today was especially difficult on this subject as she had bought herself a small stuffed white cat doll. She was proud of this toy, going on about how it was the last one they had left. She held it in front of my face, smiling, and started again.

"Can we get one that looks just like this please?" She placed the doll on me, signifying a cat laying down on my lap. I looked at the thing, obviously getting more annoyed with each time she asked this silly question. It had become daily and, in my defense, I just didn't want to hear it anymore. It was rather old. So I picked the doll up and tossed it across the room; this resulting in a shocked look from Aeria, not caring really.

"What don't you understand? I've said it a thousand times I guess I need to say it another thousand times for you to understand something as simple as this; we can't get one. The building doesn't allow it." I had raised my voice slightly as I scolded her, trying to get my point across for the thousandth time.

She looked at me, eyes wide with fear. I hadn't raised my voice that much did I? Maybe I yelled at her and didn't realize it. She quickly went to go pick up the tossed doll and held it close. I looked at her, wanting to apologize for what I said, but before I could she said something that I never wanted to hear; that shattered me in so many, many ways. "I hate you" is all she said as she ran off to her room, quickly closing and locking it.


	6. Rape

I had drank myself into oblivion that night. I couldn't accept what had happened. I wasn't able to protect her and this, I just could not accept. I was supposed to be there for her, to keep her safe. But this time I wasn't. As I tossed back my tenth drink of the night, I just sunk deeper and deeper into depression. As it was my fault her family died, it was also my fault that fat fuck was able to take advantage of her. Not in a million years could she defend herself from a man of that size. He was easily able to overpower her and force himself upon the poor girl.

The more I drank, the more I imagined what that sick piece of shit had done to her. With every drink I could feel my mind getting closer and closer to edge of insanity. The idea of sitting here, doing nothing, as that man was able to walk the streets was enough to drive me crazy. I swore to myself I would find him, even if I had to use the best of the best technology Shinra had to offer.

I tossed down a couple more drinks, and decided I'd go home (well not really decided, the bartender said he wouldn't serve me anymore so staying was pointless). Good thing I didn't live far from the bar. Walking down the dark streets of Sector five, my thoughts still remained on her and what she went through. She had told me that it hurt; that it hurt a lot. I felt sick to my stomach. She had begged and cried, hoping it would help; but it didn't. He still raped her; he still took her innocence, he still hurt the person I love. Sick motherfucker.

Having arrived at my apartment building, I cursed to myself as I approached the flight of stairs that led to my particular apartment. Why did I have to live upstairs? Should have picked a downstairs places but no, I wanted to be upstairs. Going up the stairs was a feat all on its own. Having fallen down them twice, surprised I was still alive after, I did manage to get to my door.

The apartment felt empty; all the lights were off. Switching one on as I entered, it looked at empty as it felt. Drunk off my ass, I stumbled to the couch and plopped down on it. I shook my head, trying desperately to get the thought of that man on her out of my mind. Having glanced at the clock, it was three A.M.. Shit, need sleep now. I got up, after falling back to the couch twice, I stumbled to my room, which was open for some reason. When I entered, I put on the light to look for a pair of pajama pants (be damned if I sleep in my day clothing) and noticed her laying on my bed. It just hit me then the severity of what had happened to her. She laid half naked on the bed; only in a bra and panty combo. Bruises and cuts littered her perfect body; more then I have even gotten myself and I'm a Turk. It hurt me to no end. I walked to her, sitting softly down on the bed (afraid I'd wake her if she was asleep) and ran my hand through her messy brown hair. She wasn't asleep though. She looked at me and, voice cracking from obviously crying, she spoke softly: "I want to be strong".


	7. I wanna (Aeria rambles on)

A/N: kind of wanted to make a chapter delving into the mind of Aeria post rape. Something interesting to say the least.

~Aeria's POV~

Ramble on Aeria; Ramble on…

 _I wanna get stronger. I wanna get stronger. I wanna kill that bitch that hurt me._

 _I wanna impress you. I wanna rely only on myself_

 _I wanna be independent. I wanna be reliable._

 _I wanna get revenge. I wanna kill that man. I wanna kill Avalanche._

 _I wanna be respected. I wanna be amazing!_

 _I wanna be strong. I wanna be great._

 _I wanna show you what I can do._

 _I wanna be a strong woman!_

 _I wanna be a woman, not a kid._

 _I wanna die…NO!_

 _I wanna fight._

 _I wanna fight._

 _I…. wanna die._

 _I wanna die in your arms._

 _I want to be noticed_

 _I want to be respected._

 _I want to be strong._

 _I want to be great._

 _I want to be just like you._

 _I want attention._

 _I want love._

 _I want to be loved._

 _I want to be accepted._

 _I want the strength to deal with it all._

 _I want to be happy._

 _I want to be happy._

 _I want to be my old self._

 _I want to die._

 _I don't want this._

 _I don't want to exist._

 _I don't want this life anymore._

 _I don't need this._

 _I don't want to hurt._

 _I don't want to lose you._

 _I don't…I don't know._

 _I don't want to live._

Please give me the strength. Please give me the strength to pull the trigger. Hand stop shaking! Dammit why can't I do it? Look how weak you are Aeria. You can't kill a simple monster, you can't fight off a man, and you can't even kill yourself. In truth, you are pathetic. You're as pathetic as those scum that brought down Sector seven. You so pathetic you're bumming off this stupid Turk. Go to a children's home Aeria or do something right for once. Kill yourself bitch! Look, the guns pointed at your head again. Fucking fire! Do it! Do something right for once! Oh look you're not? What a surprise. How pathetic and weak. Oh look you dropped it. Even weaker. Are those tears? Are you crying? You, my dear, are a sad case; a sad case indeed.

I closed the black book, my journal as you would call it, and quickly locked it. He'd flip if he saw what I write; a mix of dark writings as well as very sexual thoughts I get on a daily basis. I hate it. I slid the black book under the couch as I heard the door knob turn. Brushing myself off, so as to look presentable, as one would for a spouse, I laid back on the couch. Comfy as always. When he entered, he tossed some kind of jacket( I guessed) at me. Inspecting it, it was one of those cute jackets with the moogle ears and wings on it. An old friend of mine back home had one. I always wanted it, but she'd never let me borrow it; claiming I'd lose it or something. But now I have one! Haha! Wait. I thought for a second. Did he buy this for me? Oh snap he must of. "How much gil did you pay for this?" obviously a rude question, but I needed to know. I felt kind of bad.

"I didn't. It was given to me by a friend. Said it might fit you." Man, he didn't buy it. Not as special but I'll take what I can get. I put it on, raising the hood so those cute moogle ears would be on my head. I must look amazing; like a damn moogle. I loved moogles. Sliding my hands in my pockets, I watched as Reno, for some reason I can't understand, get undressed in the living room (well just taking off his jacket and top but still, it's the principle of the thing!) He noticed me watching and I shook my head.

"You really never cease to amaze me." I rose and walked to my room, ignoring whatever it was he just said (I think it was like "you like what you see" or something. I don't know).

I had completely forgotten my book under the couch. I hope he didn't find it. Even though it's locked, he'd find a way to open it. He's Reno of course; if he wants something he'll surely get it.

But luckily, when I awoke the next morning, it was still under the couch, in what appeared to be the same position. He didn't find it. I unlocked the book, and looked through it, making sure everything was in order. Everything appeared to be, except for one thing. On that most recent page, there was something scribbled under it all and it read: "You're not weak."

Shit he found it.


	8. Starfall and Edge

A/N: chapter switches between the POV's of the two characters. that's about it.

Tseng told me to shut the tape off. He was getting frustrated, I could tell by look on his face. I was only doing what he had told me to; explain everything from the beginning. He crossed his arms, obviously very annoyed, and looked me dead straight in the eye.

"Get to it." He demanded. "Unless you'd like to meet the same fate of course." He closed his eyes for a second, maybe gathering himself? I didn't know. I just nodded quickly "But unlike her, it won't be quick and it won't be painless."

"Uhm okay boss." the quick and simple response was all he needed to hear to lose that annoyance, well at least a little bit of it; I knew he was still pissed at the situation. I pressed record once again, guessing I'd start somewhere a little more interesting to black haired man in front of me.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as Tseng explained some the situation to us. It was something about a small terrorist group that formed after the destruction of Sector Seven. Nothing major yet, but Tseng wanted them snuffed out before they became another Avalanche. Made sense.

"Okay Reno, as well as the rest of you, I guess I need to explain it a third time. Okay listen up, this is the last time I'm saying it." He stood from his chair and walked over to the window behind his desk. It was a big one too. He could see all of what was below the Shinra building from his office. Kinda made me feel a little jealous. "After Reno dropped the plate, a new terrorist group pretty much formed out of nothing. Their name is Starfall and, while not as big or even as dangerous as Avalanche, they have been causing problems of their own. Namely killing off Shinra employees, bombings, break ins, you get where I'm going with this." He placed a hand on the window. "I want them taken down before they can cause any actual issues. Investigate the situation and take out their leader." He turned to face us, a look of confidence in his eyes. "I've emailed to each of you what I want done. Get to it." And as that thought ended, we knew to leave the office and get to work; he seemed to serious for me to cause any sort of issue.

My assignment for this particular mission was to scope out some building in Sector Six that Tseng figured was a place they frequented. Rather simple assignment to be honest and one I could do with my eyes closed. Standing upon a nearby roof, I watched said building through a pair of binoculars. Nothing out of the ordinary; just people entering and exiting. A few hours of this goes by and I figure to myself nothing exciting is ever going to happen. A few more and Tseng call's, telling me to return. Thank god. As I rise from my crouched position; I hiss. I had been in the same position for hours, I truly hurt. Promising myself I wouldn't do that again, I walk to the nearest ladder so I can return to my car. Hopefully tomorrow would be more eventful.

Aeria's POV

Something had told me not to go. Something inside me demanded I stay where I was, not to get involved this tim. I followed my instinct and stayed home. They didn't need me anyway. Flipping on the TV, I flipped to some news program. A story about a bombing caught my attention. Another bombing; more deaths. I shook my head. What were they doing? I took a deep breath, relaxing myself. They knew what they were doing, I knew this. Hopefully Edge had this. He wasn't that stupid of a man, if he had any stupidity at all.

Edge was a man I could say I literally feared. He stood some six foot three and pretty well built. He didn't need that damn sword of his to kick your ass. Just one look from him was enough to scare most people away. This man was scary to the extreme I swear! There's one thing I'll always remember about this man. A young boy had pick pocketed him, stealing his phone and some gil. Keeping his calm, Edge followed the boy home. Poor kid had no idea what was going to happen to him. Without getting into to much detail, he made sure that boy wasn't walking the streets anymore. From what I had heard, the boy bled more then Edge thought he would.

Edge also had an amazing personality too. He was that kind of guy who just didn't care what people thought; didn't care who liked or hated him. He lived his life the way he wanted to, fucking all of societies norms just to do as he pleased. Remember that kid in school who acted like a badass even though they weren't? Yeah he was a badass version of that kid. No joke. Edge literally gave zero fucks.

Shutting off the TV, I thought to myself. Edge had stated he didn't want any sort of media attention with this one, yet the bombing was being talked about on the news. Had Edge fucked up for once? I shook my head. Not possible. He was a genius; no one was as smart or amazing as Edge. Well mostly anyone anyway. My mind was gradually falling deeper and deeper into thought.

Edge had fucked up. This fuck up meant that there was a possibility that Shinra was onto us and that meant that the turks would be sent in to kill us. I shivered at the thought. That would me possibly Reno would be the one to kill me. I didn't want to die. I shook my head again, trying to get those thoughts out of my head. But then an idea popped. What if I cherish everyday I have? What if I live my life as if it were my last? A great idea. Maybe I'll do it. "Live life on the edge." I laughed a bit after saying that. "Maybe I'll live like Edge; like I have zero fucks to gives." I smiled. The silence in the room was interrupted by the ringing of my phone. Reno calling. Better answer it.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Yeah just checking on you."

Ever since he found my journal, he called everyday after work to make sure I was alive (I'm guessing). Sweet guy. To bad we're technically enemies. Dammit.


End file.
